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Juventus with one week to go before the start: what is working and what is not, on the pitch and in the transfer market

The indications from the pitch after the friendlies, and the current state of Juventus' transfer business, seven days before their league opener.

Only one week is left before Juventus begin the 2026-27 Serie A season. On Sunday, 23 August at 6.30pm, Luciano Spalletti's Juventus will travel to Frosinone for the first official match of the new campaign. Tomorrow, Juve will play their final summer friendly, an internal test against Juventus Next Gen, and after that the real countdown to next Sunday will begin. With seven days remaining before the debut, here is what is working and what is not at Juventus, both on the field and in the market.

On the pitch, what is working

Juventus' defence has looked solid, while the midfield and attack have been less convincing. Across all the friendlies, the team have allowed very few openings to opponents, and in six matches they have conceded goals only against Inter, two in total. In midfield, Douglas Luiz has been one of the standout performers of pre-season and, unless there is a surprise, he seems certain to keep his place. New arrival Celik has also shown strong personality and effectiveness, while further forward the sharpest and most proactive player has been Conceicao.

On the pitch, what is not working

The goalkeeping situation remains a concern, especially in relation to Di Gregorio. He and Perin have not had much to do against opposing attacks, yet the former Monza goalkeeper has let in the only two goals Juventus have conceded in pre-season, both against Inter, with a double aggravating factor: for Dimarco's goal he reacts late with his dive, while for Diouf's he makes an awkward attempt at a save and nearly pushes the ball into his own net. The understanding between Alajbegovic and Yildiz still needs fine-tuning, although that is naturally to be expected: the danger is that the two may end up stepping into each other's spaces, because they both like to operate in the same areas of the pitch. Finally, there is the genuine issue, one Juventus also had last season: the team lack a penalty-box centre-forward, and Kolo Muani is not that type of striker.

Transfer market, what is working

Juventus have mainly improved at the back, where Celik and Lucumi appear to be two sure bets. The former Roma player offers versatility and can fill several roles, a quality coaches always value. The former Bologna man, meanwhile, is a signing that brings physical strength and experience, and he completes the group of left-footed centre-backs, offering stronger guarantees on paper than Kelly. Lastly, Alajbegovic represents a very important signing for the future, and he is also the kind of player who can rekindle the supporters' enthusiasm after years of costly but disappointing arrivals.

Transfer market, what is not working

The list of unresolved issues in the transfer market is a long one. First is the goalkeeper problem, which is beginning to look almost surreal. After exploring moves for Alisson, Svilar and Dibu Martinez, while always keeping Vicario as an alternative, Juventus suddenly switched attention to Suzuki. That move became complicated and then fell through. In the last few hours, rumours have suggested a renewed attempt for Martinez, but the fact remains that on 16 August, one week before the first round of the league season, Juventus still do not have a new first-choice goalkeeper. And this was supposed to be the very first issue they solved in the market.

Then there is midfield. The team still do not have a deep-lying playmaker, and it appears Juventus could end up trying to repurpose Douglas Luiz in that role. They also still have not found a replacement for Vlahovic, and that player is not Kolo Muani. The French forward is a good striker and a good signing, but he likes to move across the entire attacking line. He is not a penalty-box centre-forward.

Finally, there is the issue of surplus players: with Openda sorted out, the Juventus squad still includes a long list of players the club would like to move on, but who, for different reasons such as a transfer fee being too high, wages being too high, or a lack of interested clubs, may prove difficult to offload: Di Gregorio, Rugani, Kooomeiners, Arthur, Milik, Zhegrova and David.